Anna Raccoon Archives

Post navigation

All guns blazing

The Anna Raccoon Archives

by Thaddeus J. Wilson on August 17, 2010

Greetings, Mr Miliband!

It was with the growing sense of despair, dismay and distaste that I read the following in the Spectator:

Westminster might be in holiday mode, but behind the scenes the coalition is preparing to take on the new Labour leader. As I say in the Mail on Sunday, the coalition is determined to hit whichever Miliband wins early and hard. The Cameroons believe that Tony Blair’s decision not to attack Cameron straight away in 2005 was crucial in allowing him to present himself to the public on his own terms. By contrast, both Hague and Duncan Smith were made to look like losers by the Labour attack machine within months of becoming leader of the opposition.

The result of the Labour leadership election will be announced on the 25th of September. But as the Waarsi Huhne press conference this week showed, with its demand that the leadership contenders return their ministerial severance payments showed the softening up work is already starting.

From the beginning of September, a new CCHQ operation will issue quotes from ministers that are too political for civil servants to handle and pump out opposition research. The aim is to associate the new leader with Labour’s failures and to force them to say what they would do differently.

The new Labour leader’s first few months in the job will be crucial. Labour has ticked up in the polls since the election. If a new leader can get through to the New Year without incurring much damage then the opposition will be in a strong position. But if the coalition can do to him what Labour did to Hague and Duncan-Smith then it will have the political breathing space that it needs.

This, to me, summarises exactly why government is such a bad thing. At no point in the foregoing article is there even a hint or whisper about what is good for this country and the long-suffering voter and taxpayer. This government is purely concerned with slapping down the opposition so that it can push its agenda. The opposition, by implication, is not interested in what the country needs either, all it wants to do posture against everything this government is doing.

I realise that it’s the job of opposition to oppose, but it seems to me that since the advent of Blair and his familiar, Cameron, politics has become a matter of expediency and sound bites, with government drifting aimlessly on a sea of opinion polls.

In reality, I would normally think this is the best way for a government to be, but we, as a nation, cannot afford to drift aimlessly while we head for a one-and-a-half-trillion debt burden. The faux furore over Osborne’s supposed “cuts”, which are nothing of the sort, just shows that politicians have entirely failed to grasp the idea that there is no money tree and that actually, things look grim. Our “leaders” seem to think that by slowing down from 186 miles per hour to 180, we won’t go straight over the cliff in front of us.

When the real crash happens, politicians will say “we could never have predicted this”. Well, if I can predict this, anyone can. You just have to move out of your la-la land for a few minutes and look around.

But in the mean time, Cameron and Clegg (and Miliband), do keep on expending all your efforts on your political games. Don’t worry about anything else, will you? It’s clearly not important.

{14 comments }

passat21August 17, 2010 at 18:58

My previous comment was pointing out that ALL politicians are at fault not just the ones that have just left office! Also backwoodsman should have someone qualified check his memory because clearly it is faulty, the Tories were ousted from power because they were convinced that they ruled by divine right and unreasonable requirements like listening to the people and doing what is best for the country should be ignored. There’s only one thing worse than a bigot and that is a blind bigot, add in a selective memory and…

All politicians invariably suffer from this disease. The only thing that varies is how long it takes them to succumb to it.

English VikingAugust 17, 2010 at 18:22

Thad,

Some people who know a lot more about economics than me suggest that if we calculate all the Enron style accountancy fiddles as well (things like pretending the pensions time-bomb doesn’t exist), the National debt is way in excess of 3 trillion already.

Economic collapse is inevitable.

HysteriaAugust 18, 2010 at 01:12

yup – it’s simply a question of who goes first, and when………(not “if”)

oh – for the macro-view of who will come out on top – keep an eye on Chinese rearmamnent. Pretty soon they wil be able to simply take Taiwan back and the USA will be able to do nothing….and then watch them refuse to buy any more US Gilts…. truly we are fucked – we just don’t realise it yet…….

Sorry to say it is even worse than that – the ONS calculates that the actual liabilities are

EleanorAugust 17, 2010 at 17:51

Oh, and some cheap Vodka wouldn’t go amiss. No chance of that with Cameron. But then Brown wasn’t keen either. Secondhand Socialists if you ask me.

EleanorAugust 17, 2010 at 17:48

The Russians aren’t happy about giving up Socialism you know. They don’t get free coal anymore.I could do with some free coal.

BobAugust 17, 2010 at 09:31

The problem is not really the Labour party.The problem is the socialist belief system which has been increasingly embedded in this nation since the early part of the 20th century.Even worse is the socialist belief system which is deeply embedded in the Tories! They seem to be content with debating about what sort of socialism the nation should have whilst they are in power.If the Tories had spent some of their previous time in power, and in opposition, making a clear argument about why socialism/welfare WILL ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ruin a country, then we might have more intelligent voters.Sadly far too many voters just want someone to look after them, ie. they are indoctrinated and infantilised by welfarism.

Fascist HippyAugust 17, 2010 at 21:24

Yep!

HysteriaAugust 18, 2010 at 01:09

vote for Bob ! this pretty much sums it up.

backwoodsmanAugust 17, 2010 at 08:37

Whilst the sentiment is admirable, it rather skates over the large elephant in the room, ie that the Tories have to deal with the socialists. Labour are not just a normal political party, who believe they can run the railway more efficiently than the next party. They are a group who wish to exert control over every facet of our lives, with their poisonous and discredited system.

KingbingoAugust 18, 2010 at 13:21

I think your right backwoodsman.

“At no point in the foregoing article is there even a hint or whisper about what is good for this country and the long-suffering voter and taxpayer.”

Perhaps the best possible thing the collation could achieve, more so than any government initiative, is the complete destruction of Labour and the socialist mentality.

Perhaps they should go after the teachers unions and the BBC with equal vigour.

passat21August 17, 2010 at 07:39

The priority of a political party is to get elected as the government, by whatever means. When in government the priority is to stay elected. While in power the next priority is to make policy and decisions that achieve one thing only – to appear to be doing something, sometimes even enough, to ensure that you stay elected. As Thaddeus says anything else is unimportant. As for predicting a crash, the missing scotsman GB (where is he now?) should and no doubt did see the disaster of the Banks coming but chose to ignore it. Perhaps he turned a blind eye, after all he could! Give me a politician with a real sense of duty to the country and I’ll show you a miracle, my God we need one now.

Gildas the MonkAugust 17, 2010 at 07:27

I completely agree with the sentiment Thaddeus – but isn’t that just politics and the way it has always been?Or is the modern “spin” and “briefing” if not a radical departure, then the hyper extension of what has always gone on?Like so many of my order, I seek enlightenment, but must run for the train!Gildas the Monk